Author: Arun Thakar, Vice President in the banking industry.

In cases where you have a single DEV model and multiple TEST and PROD models, the situation may arise where one user group asks for a feature that is not required for other users in different models. All too often the answer is to build modules, lists, and logic to support the requesting group which wastes memory in models not using the feature. What if I told you that there is way to turn on or off modules and save space and prevent your model from turning into a Frankenstein?

That method is called “Modulation”.

The premise of modulation is that cell count in modules can collapse to zero for features not in use, while features in use can be enabled to calculate in a model. This article depicts how to set up modulation in your Anaplan models.

How does Modulation work?

Modulation uses production lists to manage cell size in an Anaplan model. Groups of modules that make up a feature would all be dimension by an additional production list, Modulator List A in the example below. If there is a second feature that the architect of a model would like turned off, the modules associated with Feature B would all be dimensioned by Modulator List B and there would zero list items in this list, which would cause the cell count in the Feature B to be zero.

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Because the modules in Feature A or B all have an additional dimension, a simple data transformation using a LOOKUP formula, can be leveraged to pull data out of the enabled feature and feed downstream modules.

Using a UX wizard to enable or disable features

To set up this architecture it may make sense to build a quick UX where an administrator enables the feature for the first time. On a UX page an admin can select which features they wish to turn on or off and create a process which imports unique values into one or more production lists.

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Now that you have an idea of how modulator works, feel free to give it a try in your model. The use case of one cluttered DEV model that serves multiple TEST and PROD models is a great place to start. Also please remember that if you employ this in an established deployed model, there may be some data loss because you are changing the dimensionality of modules.

Questions? Leave a comment!